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Because they have been so popular over the last 50 years or so, Golden Retrievers have been over-bred, resulting in a genetic predisposition to experience specific health problems. Unfortunately, as greedy breeders often fail to screen their breeding animals, additional hereditary health problems are introduced to the breed. If you have a Golden, or plan to bring one into your home, you should know about the more common hereditary problems that may reduce the quality or length of your Golden Retriever’s life.

Health Problems Known to Be Inherited by Golden Retrievers

Hip and Elbow Dysplasia: When growing hip joints don’t form properly, juvenile and adult Retrievers may have an uneven gait or even severe lameness. This inheredited disorder is common to many large dogs, and while is not usually noticeable in puppies, hip dysplasia will begin to show when your Golden is between four and nine months old. The severity of the condition varies greatly from dog to dog, but most Goldens with hip dysplasia will develop arthritis as they age. Moderate exercise, weight control, and inflammatory medications will help with the discomfort of this problem. Not all Golden Retrievers will show, or even know about, their hip dysplasia if it’s a mild form. Golden’s with hip dysplasia can live long, happy lives, but they should not be bred.

Like hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia is developmental problem in young dogs. It is not as common as hip dysplasia, but it can be aggravated by over-feeding and too much nutrition in early puppyhood. Care and treatment are the same as for hip dysplasia. And, of course, Golden Retrievers with hip dysplasia should not be bred.

Eye Disease: Golden Retrievers frequently suffer from hereditary cataracts. They can range from mild problems that do not interfere with your Golden’s vision to severe cataracts that cause blindness as the dog ages. Eyelid and eyelash problems may be hereditary, though not all are. When the lids or lashes turn in, they may irritate the eyeball. Depending on the severity of this problem, surgery may be necessary. Because it’s hard to tell whether eye diseases result from heredity or environment, it’s best not to breed a Golden Retriever with frequent or chronic eye problems.

Heart Disease: Golden Retrievers are known to inherit Subvalvular Aortic Stenosis (SAS) that may be hard to detect. Heart murmur is the best indicator, although it is not always present when the problem exists. Your veterinarian may be able to identify the problem by listening with a stethoscope or more invasive necropsy. If your Golden has SAS, consult with your veterinerian about the best treatments.

Golden Retriever Health Problems Suspected to be Inherited

Epilepsy: Characterized by seizures, epilepsy can result from environmental sources and viral infections. While watching your Golden Retriever go through a seizure is very uncomfortable, it may not be dangerous to your dog’s long-term quality of life. You can get medications from your vet to control the seizures. Do not breed a Golden Retriever that has seizures to avoid the chance of passing the disorder on to its puppies.

Skin Allergies: The most common medical problem that Golden Retrievers experience is skin allergies, although it’s difficult to know if they are genetic or environmental in nature. Your Golden may have skin allergies if it obsessively bites or scratches. It can even create bald spots in its coat if it goes untreated. Skin allergies are a natural reaction to flea, mite, and tick bites and can be reduced or avoided by regular grooming and shampooing with commercial flea and tick products. Your Golden could also be allergic to mold and other indoor air pollutants. Regular house-cleaning should reduce the problem. Diet can be very important to treating and avoiding allergic reactions in Golden Retrievers, so do your research to find the appropriate feeding regimen for your dog.

Hypothyroidism: Golden Retrievers affected by this failure of the thyroid gland to function properly may be obese or have problems maintaining a healthy coat. Some Golden’s with hypothyroidism will also have seizures. However, most problems should resolve upon the administration of oral medicines. Assuring your Golden is generally healthy by providing a balanced nutritious diet, plenty of exercise, and a safe living environment will do much to prevent or reduce the impacts of hypothyroidism. Goldens with this problem may have more difficulty breeding than you’d expect, although it is recommended that you do not even try to breed a Golden Retriever with this or other hereditary conditions.

Tips on Selecting and Caring for Your Golden Retriever

These are a few of the medical problems often found in Golden Retrievers. It’s an unfortunate irony that the more popular a dog is, the more likely breeding is to bring out health problems specific to the breed. One way to avoid these problems is to be very careful in selecting the breeder, shelter, or pet store that supplies your dog. Insist on reviewing the dog’s records, and inspect the facility. Knowing that the offerer has a passionate love for Golden Retrievers is one way to assure your Golden is not plagued by the problems that result from breeding and over-breeding unhealthy dogs.

No matter what symptoms your Golden Retriever exhibits, the careful pet owner does not jump to conclusions or make uneducated diagnoses. If you are concerned about your Golden, be sure to take it to the vet as soon as you can. Rely on the education and experience of a certified veterinarian in identifying health problems and treating them.

A breeder is one who deals in pups and looks after the dogs to ensure he gets a good quality litter. It is important for you to be able to trust your breeder and his ability to provide you with a good pup. There are three types of breeders that one must know about.

Avoid pet shop or pet dealer and backyard dealers. At the pet shop the pups are raised strictly for their commercial value and not much attention is paid to their welfare – they are generally poorly bred and badly raised.

The backyard breeder is a person who has a pet Golden and breeds for fun or money. Not much attention is paid to history and standard of the breed. Proper care is not taken and the breeder is generally not aware of problems that he may face while breeding.

Your best option therefore is the serious hobby breeder. Now here is someone who is dedicated to breeding his dogs in the best and safest possible manner keeping all relevant details in mind.

Since the price difference is not much between the pet shop breeder, the backyard breeder and the serious breeder, one needs to know a few things before selecting the right breeder to know that they have someone they can trust.

Firstly, the breeder should be part of the Golden Retriever Club of America, a local Golden Retriever club, or an all-breed club and is up to date with rules and regulations.

The breeder must show his/her dogs in the breed ring, in hunting tests/field trials, the obedience ring, agility, tracking, or in a combination of all. This is so that the breeder is aware of how good his/her dogs really are. He is allowing his dogs to be tested so that he can better his efforts.

You know that he is not only dependent on pedigree. You may not want a competition dog but you would like you pup to be part of a carefully planned litter.

The breeder must also have some basics in place like a clean environment; healthy, well-socialized puppies; and a dam of good temperament. He must also allow you to have the puppy examined by a veterinarian and ensure that it is in good health.

Then the breeder must have a record of dates and types of vaccinations and de-worming done, feeding instructions, a 3-to 5-generation pedigree, and an AKC registration application so you can apply for registration of the puppy in your own name with the American Kennel Club (AKC).

Written instructions on feeding, training and care must be given. He also must be able to show you proof that the sire and dam have had their hips X-rayed, and evaluated as normal by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and/or PennHIP along with other necessary check ups. The breeder should be willing and able to answer your questions possible hereditary problems.

He must take the trouble to find out what kind of dogs you have had in the past, what happened to them; do you have a fenced yard; and will the dog will be allowed to be a house dog and a member of the family.

Sincere breeders will want the pups best interests at heart and will be reluctant to sell them if they have misgivings about you.

He should be able to give you references, a written contract benefiting all concerned, pedigree and registration papers, be there for advice should you need any and help you enjoy your dog to the fullest as much as he can.

Ensure that you ask all the questions you have and clear up each and every little doubt. Before selecting the right breeder, make sure he gives you a satisfactory response to all queries and he meets all the criteria. All the best!

Hip Dysplasia is simply an abnormal formation of the hip joint. It is similar to looseness in a joint, which should normally fit tightly into its socket. Consequent problems that can occur would happen as a result of this looseness.

Genetics plays an important role in the expression of Hip Dysplasia and it has been observed that there is a 25 to 85% chance of a dog inheriting this problem from its parents. The dog’s environment also plays an important role in observing signs of Hip Dysplasia.

In fact, a good environment can suppress onset of Hip Dysplasia, even in those dogs whose parentage had it earlier. These are some of the things you should take care of. Symptoms include sudden lameness, or the inability to walk properly in Hip Dysplasia and Golden retrievers having it are also likely to get arthritis when they grow older.

Nutrition plays a vital role in Hip Dysplasia and Golden retrievers with proper nutrition have been able to arrest growth rate and reduce the potential to develop Hip Dysplasia. You need to make sure that your dog is not overweight and is eating the right amount of fat and protein. The idea is not to starve the animal, but to give it the right nutrition and watch its weight.

It has also been observed that dogs, which live in homes with slippery surfaces, are also going to be prone to get hip difficulties. For example, if you have marble flooring at home, make sure your golden beauty moves around in an environment where they can get a good grip on the surface they are walking on. Sometimes, you will not know that your dog has Hip Dysplasia until there is a lot of wear and tear with age in his muscles, and it begins to become noticeable.

You can operate and have surgery to remove Hip Dysplasia. If it can be done, you should seriously consider this option as it is the only way your dog will be able to lead a normal life. Of course, surgery can be taxing both mentally and physically, and is not a matter to be taken lightly. Golden retrievers can withstand a good amount of pain, and will not show any sign of complaint.

Even though they may be in pain, you will not know it. This is why you need to come forward, take the right decision, and give relief to your dog in the best manner possible with the options open to you.

This is Sunny, my precious 6 month old Golden Retriever puppy! He’s showing off all the tricks he’s learned so far… well almost all of them. He also knows “Come” and “Find”, where a member of the family can hide and he will seek them out! The tricks he does in order are Sit, Down, “Bang” which is Play Dead, Shake a Paw, Stay, and Leave It! He’s very smart, I can’t wait to teach him more! I’d love to hear comments! *No rude ones please* Thanks, Enjoy!

Ginger’s late-night addiction: playing a game of Bejeweled Blitz! Special thanks to our friends at Pop Cap Games.

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Lexi girl’s dog tricks! Proud to be Pinay! Watch it in high quality para mas bongga! Hehehe for more of lexi’s tricks, click here: www.youtube.com

All of us who have pets, find them sitting next to its favorite member of the household, who is at the dining table eating human food. The Golden Retriever looks longing at you, and often utters a small woof, especially when it smells a delicious piece that you are picking up and putting in your mouth.

What should you do? Is it advisable to feed the Golden Retriever, your pet, what you are eating? You have bought the recommended dog foods, but it has become a human almost, living day and day out with you. And it acquires the same tastes as you do. So there’s a dilemma here.

The best would be to consult with the Vet what kinds of human foods you can feed safely to your Golden Retriever. A bite does not matter, but going the whole hog? That’s a very different cup of tea, and care has to be taken.

So without substituting the Vet’s advice for your particular Golden Retriever – every dog has its own allergies and digestive system, and the metabolism may vary, we give some tips on what can be given generally.

Chickens, raw vegetables, turkey, brown rice, furits, oatmeal, are as good for them as they are for you. All animals have taste buds just like you and me. Some may prefer the oatmeal or chicken, ignoring the brown rice or the raw vegies, some the other way around. You can’t tell, just as you can’t tell for your children. If you are a child, you too ignore what your taste bud doesn’t like or you are not in the mood! And the dogs love to eat with the family; if you see a litter, and you have, they all eat together, just like us!

Well, if you open the frig, and your golden retriever runs up and sits there with his tongue hanging out, you can take it as a compliment! its not that it is asking you for a piece or a slice, it’s just that what you have cooked smells great to him! And he would love it if you gave him a piece.. how many of your family members do that?

There are some don’t does. And do follow them, and be firm about it.

1. Egg whites

Feeding large amounts of egg whites is spoiling the golden. Too much of it creates an excess of avidin, which results in Vitamin B deficiency. But if you give him egg yolks, it’s okay; egg yolks contain higher Vitamin B levels which will neutralise the avidin. The best is to give him the whole egg – raw – including the shell. That gives them lots of proteins. To vary it, you can choose to mix up the three, egg whites, whole egg, and the egg yolk. That means you have a choice of 9 varities you can use. (3 to the power of 3)!

2. Chocolates

Chocolates are a big NO. it contains Bromine, very toxic to dogs and cats. Unsweet chocolate is even worse: the Bromine content is much larger, and even more toxic. And is fatal if not checked right from the beginning.

As we said earlier, generally most human foods are acceptable for your pet, except chocolates. However, it is always best to consult your Vet who can guide you properly, which human foods can be used, or not used, what should be the ratio, and so on.

It’s just like your asking your physician for a healthy diet for yourself. The same applies to your pet. After all, it’s your best friend. Would you not take that precaution for your human best friend?

So take care. And, yes, by the way, this article is an illustrative one, and is not meant to be a substitute for professional advice. Never act on it without consulting your Vet first.

Yes, we do so emphatically, NO CHOCOLATES for your pets, come hell or high water!

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nted from getting into your Golden Retriever by using three different vaccinations. This is done usually when it is 6 to 16 weeks old and it is accompanied with annual regular booster shots. The symptoms include cough, fever, vomiting and diarrhea. You should be immediately visiting a doctor if you find your dog having these symptoms.

2. Heartworms

Most of the dog breeds are attacked by this ailment named Heartworms. It leads to heart failures on reaching lengths of 12 inches or more in the lung and heart arteries. There is a decrease in blood circulation and can be even fatal sometimes. The symptoms of this Heartworm ailment don’t come early and hence it’s better to prevent them before it actually affects your dog.

3. Heatstroke

A heatstroke can affect a Golden Retriever usually in summer or some hot day. Give the dog plenty of fluids, fluid being water, and do not leave the dog in direct sunlight. Suppose you are playing with your dog, give it ample rest so that it doesn’t get easily tired. Panting, dark sums, excessive drooling, rapid pulse, glazed expression and vomiting are the symptoms for heatstroke. Take your dog to the vet if any of these symptoms are seen in your dog.

4. Rabies

Rabies is a very serious and dangerous ailment a Golden Retriever can get. It has a direct effect on the nervous system of the dog. Rabies usually comes with a bite from another dog infected with rabies. Rabies shots are given in clinics to prevent this disastrous disease. The vaccination should be taken at least once a year. Aggression, seizures and foaming are the main symptoms. Call the vet immediately if you spot any of these above symptoms.

5. Tapeworms

Tapeworms affect the stomach of a Golden Retriever and are normally caused by fleas. Diarrhea, loss of weight and biting of rectal area are the major symptoms of this ailment. A rigid flea control can prevent tapeworms from affecting your dog. Take it to the vet as soon as you see your dog suffering. The vet might kill the Tapeworms early through oral medicines.

6. Hookworms

Contact with any feces or simply burrowing under the exposed skin can cause Hookworms in your Golden Retriever. By keeping the surroundings and your dog area clean, you can prevent this from affecting your dog it is very essential to keep the dog’s skin clean. Weight loss, dry coat and blood seen in stool are the symptoms of this ailment. Just like any other ailment, this once seen must be immediately looked after. Take it to the vet and make sure you prevent this ailment from affecting your dog.

These are only a few ailments that can affect a Golden Retriever. There can be other ailments as well that can cause serious health problems. You should not hesitate or think to take your dog to the vet. Anticipate when you see your dog suffering from any of those mentioned symptoms as a few can be really dangerous if it is not treated early.